


Casual Lovers

by Ulan



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Blindfolds, Jealousy, Light Bondage, M/M, Rivendell | Imladris, Third Age
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 08:13:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13632297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ulan/pseuds/Ulan
Summary: They got along well enough, but Erestor knew fully well that he and Glorfindel were only casual lovers at best.





	Casual Lovers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aprilmoon08](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aprilmoon08/gifts).



> Written for Aprilmoon for the 2018 My Slashy Valentine exchange. :)

"Erestor?"

The lights were dim in Glorfindel’s rooms, Erestor having lit only a single candle that evening as he waited. Ithil was an imperfect ball of waning light above them, dimly but valiantly doing its part in lighting the room. 

Erestor turned fully from the window to face the other. He had been waiting for Glorfindel since Erestor had excused himself from their crowded dining hall, filled with their esteemed guests for the season. Nowadays, it was becoming more and more difficult to watch Glorfindel with others, and especially that evening, him with an old lover was a sight that sparked unease where Erestor knew it had no right to be.

Thranduil as king was no different to how he was from when Erestor knew him in Lindon. The young prince had always carried himself befitting of royalty, confident and sure, and if Erestor were to ever have princelings as his charge again, then he would tell them to carry themselves as Thranduil had done. Rumour had it that the new king was thinking to settle down soon, and while Erestor did not think that Thranduil would come to Imladris for one with whom he would share a throne, Erestor would not put it past him not to seek company while he was still free. The way he spoke to Glorfindel earlier in the evening left no doubt in Erestor's mind that just as Thranduil had Glorfindel all those many years ago in Lindon, so did he also intend to call for him now in Imladris. 

He tried not to think about it so much, but it was difficult, especially with Glorfindel now in the room. That he returned alone was a relief, although that, too, had been a gamble on Erestor's part. 

"Good evening, Glorfindel."

Quiet footsteps crossed the carpeted floor as Glorfindel approached. There was a look of curiosity on his face, but his kiss was nevertheless immediate upon reaching Erestor, swooping down and with his hand even resting on the bare skin of Erestor’s nape and underneath his hair. Erestor let him do it. He even let himself enjoy the kiss, for Glorfindel’s kisses were nothing short of good and tempting, seducing even the most stubborn of Elves. 

"It is good to see you here," was whispered against his lips, pleasant sentiments although Glorfindel did not hide his surprise. “It is not every day that you come without me asking, but I can definitely get used to this.”

Erestor tilted his dark head and wondered at that. It was true that most of the time it was Glorfindel who came calling, but so often did the other do so that Erestor did not think there was any need for more. Every once in a while he would get the urge to request spending the night without laying together, but he figured that would be odd, given the circumstances.

Glorfindel as a lover was an interesting thing. As far as casual lovers went, he was a pleasant one to have, easily coaxed into encounters or initiating them himself when he needed it so that one such as Erestor, who had little experience in such things, needed not do so much to get them to bed. As far as Erestor knew, he was the only lover Glorfindel had at the moment, but he had also known Glorfindel long enough to know that it was not unlike him to have them in hoards, all just begging for his attention. 

Even this far into the new age, even two ages past when he won renown, Glorfindel was still the sort of Elf that inspired wonder and desire. He was beautiful beyond words—a handsome, chiseled face framed in his gloriously golden namesake, a hard body toned by ages worth of fighting and defending, of a height that towered nearly over everyone, and a spirit that shone brighter than any Erestor had ever seen.

Erestor had been in the presence of princes and kings many times before, enough so he could attest to their innate majesty, a beauty and confidence born out of having lived a life used to luxury and the ease at which they can have them. Glorfindel was no different, belonging not only to a high house but even having led it early in his life. While he seemed humble now and no longer clung to any other titles in this life save for what his military and political positions afforded him, Erestor had no doubt that he was accustomed only to the best of things. If he ever felt that he deserved whatever beautiful thing he could desire in Arda, then no one, least of all Erestor, could really begrudge him that.

That was why Erestor knew—his jealousy was a tricky thing. He knew himself well enough to expect that he was, in fact, perfectly capable of it. It was only fortunate that in all his years, there had been little opportunity for him to be jealous in the first place, for things like taking lovers and seeking romance simply were not of interest to him—that was, until Glorfindel. 

There in the quiet of the room, with Erestor's thoughts hidden to him, Glorfindel merely followed as he was pulled him towards the bed. The covers were already turned, just waiting for them to come; Erestor pushed his lover to sit there, and kept pushing until he was further back and sitting in the middle of the large bed. Eyes were locked together as Erestor moved to join him, planting one knee between those parted legs before hoisting himself until he was straddling the other's thighs, his arms around Glorfindel’s neck and Glorfindel's arms coming to circle around Erestor's waist. 

Glorfindel was a sensual creature, easy to seduce once one gets him in the right mood. Erestor observed this in him rather early. The captain enjoyed kisses the way one basks in Arien’s light in summer mornings; his eyes would close slowly and Erestor would even feel the smile on his lips even as they kissed. He could understand why Glorfindel never lacked for lovers. He was easy to please and oh, when his lips parted, his tongue was sweet and playful. He knew how to charm a lover into deepening the kiss, so that every time, no matter how innocently they began, Erestor would always find himself with his mouth open and gasping and wanting more. 

He did not know each and every one of Glorfindel’s old lovers. He did not want to know, for he knew he would think of them differently and in less amiable a manner. Even now his thoughts would stray back to Thranduil, wondering how long it would take before he would seduce Glorfindel back and away from Erestor's bed. There were several such Elves here in Imladris, and while their lack of success in the past years was odd, he was not foolish enough to think that it would always remain so. 

They reached, somehow, the pillows lined along the head of the bed. Glorfindel trailed kisses down Erestor’s neck, shifting the neckline of his robes aside to get to more skin, effectively distracting him at least for the time being. Erestor loved the way those hands went about it, palms warm and wide but somehow gentle, fingers peeling back fabric as Glorfindel slowly undressed him. He gasped as those kisses reached a nipple, a sensitive part of him though he only learned it after Glorfindel taught him what pleasures could be gained with enough attention. His nipples perked in the evening air, anticipating for any touch, and his fingers promptly buried in Glorfindel’s hair as a tongue licked over one. It flicked at the nub over and over, light and fast, until Erestor was moaning at the sensation and pulling at the roots of those golden waves.

Glorfindel’s chuckle was a teasing brush of air before he mercilessly moved to give the same treatment to the other. “I love how sensitive you are here,” he said, voice low and still tinged with mirth. "Not everyone is, you know." 

Erestor was about to quip that of course he would know, with his many lovers, but the words died in his mouth as fingers played with the sensitive nipple from earlier, still wet and pink from being so played by Glorfindel's wicked tongue. As though that was not enough, Glorfindel shifted so that Erestor fit more snuggly against him. The next moment was sweet torture as Glorfindel set about flicking at those nipples with fingers and tongue, all the while coaxing Erestor to press his hardening cock against the warm body that held him, even nudging him into rocking motions that let Erestor ride through the pleasure Glorfindel was giving him. 

Oh, but he was a good lover. Glorfindel was like this, delighting in the pleasure of a partner more than he sought his own. He enjoyed teasing Erestor, giving pleasure and watching him at it, smiling through the waves and peaks he expertly controlled so Erestor did not fall over completely without his captor willing it so. There were days when Glorfindel would push and pull at Erestor’s pleasure for hours, and all Erestor could do was hold on and let Glorfindel do what he wished. 

He wondered sometimes if perhaps it was too easy. Surely, with Glorfindel’s experience, there were lovers who were more interesting, more likely to initiate things that Glorfindel had never had before. Surely with Erestor, who for those first years all things were yet new, it all must have been terribly uninteresting. He asked Glorfindel about it once before, but the captain was always quick to reassure him that that was not the case. He told Erestor he liked those innocent reactions, and Erestor supposed it was just convenient to believe him. 

“Do you remember how all this began?” he asked during a lull in the teasing. Glorfindel was back to kissing up Erestor’s neck, lips mouthing at an ear, making him sigh at the slow and careful ministrations.

The golden Elf chuckled at the question. “How can I forget? The Chief Counsellor crawling to my tent in the middle of a war? Aye, of course, I remember.”

Erestor sighed and shook his head. It was a funny memory to them both, although perhaps for him there was also some hint of embarrassment still. 

“I was so surprised,” continued Glorfindel. “You told me before, many years ago then, that you were not interested in such things. You said you fully intended to walk life alone. Imagine my shock when you came and kissed me, with nary a word of warning! Had I known you could be coaxed, I would have tried with you sooner.”

“Well, I meant what I said at the time, so I suppose I should thank you for respecting my wishes."

It was true what he said, or at least he meant it when he said it. He had had no intention to wed or to even try to take lovers; he observed such things to be often messy, and he could not do what other people did, flitting from one companion to the next. 

But he did not anticipate Glorfindel, who, for whatever odd reason, took a liking to Erestor early upon his walking again in Middle-Earth. They became friends almost immediately, and Glorfindel spent much of his early days, when duties permitted it, in Erestor’s company. Erestor did not look at Glorfindel as anything more than a friend, not in the beginning, for he never expected himself to look at another in that way at all. There were Elves who chose to lead such lives, after all, and Erestor had always counted himself as one of them, having lived his life that way without ever finding someone who inspired in him the things others exclaimed about in poetry and songs. 

Glorfindel began to take lovers perhaps a century or two after their meeting. At the time, Erestor did not think anything by it, even encouraging the other to do so if the need for such companionship was something Glorfindel felt he needed. The moment people learned about it though, the more offers their renowned hero of old received, and at first it was a funny thing, watching people throw themselves at Glorfindel. 

It was sometime late in the Second Age, during a drinking game if Erestor recalled it correctly, that Glorfindel had to pay a penalty and one bold and opportunistic girl demanded a kiss. Glorfindel demurred at first, but by that point the room was so behind the idea that he was goaded into it anyway. The old captain acted all put upon, but he was smiling and he was nothing if not accommodating, nor was he the type to ruin a party. He knew the mood of the room, and so when he leaned over the girl, the kiss he gave her was not a simple one, nor was it in any way innocent. 

Erestor could not remember if he ever noticed Glorfindel before that point. He had flushed at the sight before him, the way the girl instantly turned red and all but melted into the kiss. Erestor was even sure he caught sight of tongue at a certain point, although eventually he turned away, hiding his embarrassment in his goblet. The room, of course, exploded in cheers, though Erestor was too winded to join them. But he was afforded no escape, for across the table, Glorfindel, the rogue, caught his eyes and winked at him. 

He was like that: light, easy-going, and that time being the first time Erestor realised it, effortlessly sensual and generous with his affections. It was no surprise everybody wanted him, for beyond his fame and achievements, there was this Elf who brought those initial attentions to justice. He was likable, desirable, and Erestor, in the middle of that crowd, found himself waking to the realisation that he was not so immune. 

Glorfindel's next lover after that, however, was Thranduil. As far as Erestor knew, Glorfindel took no other lovers while Thranduil had him. Then again, Erestor would not put it past the Sindarin prince to demand such exclusivity; he was worthy of it anyway, and Glorfindel had at least been good and content enough with him to allow it. 

It was not something Erestor was comfortable demanding though, for as it was, the way he offered his own company to Glorfindel was far from ideal. It was wartime, and couplings in such circumstances were often messy and frantic, limited by the space of their tents and the general cold of the land. They did it under blankets, tiredly on many days, even amidst tears when the losses they suffered had been too great. It was not the stuff of romance by any stretch, but it was relief when they needed it most. 

Erestor did not expect for things to last as long as they did. Each day that Glorfindel did not refuse him or still called for him was another day counted towards this... _arrangement_ , stretching longer than Erestor had initially intended. 

He looked at his lover now, his to claim at least one more time that evening. This Elf, after all, was not his, never anyone's save for his own self and whomever he wished to be with at any given time. Such was the way with loving Glorfindel.

“I have something in mind for tonight, if you are open to it," Erestor said to him. 

Blue eyes, open and with the hint of a smile, blinked up at him. "What is it?" 

Instead of saying, Erestor pushed Glorfindel further back so he was lying fully on the bed. He set the pillows aside, revealing two silken cloths tied around spaces in the headboard. He caught the way Glorfindel’s eyebrows rose at the sight, but Erestor gave him no chance to comment for he bent over him for a kiss, licking up and past parted lips, keeping Glorfindel busy as hands wrapped around his wrists and pulled them towards the cloths. 

“Is this all right?” Erestor asked him, even as his fingers weaved a cloth around one wrist. 

Far from protesting, a grin grew on Glorfindel’s face and it was as if he was more eager to receive Erestor’s kisses. “More than all right,” he said between them, gamely keeping himself still as Erestor moved to the other arm. “I have been waiting for you to give some indication that this is something you would like. Funny, I was beginning to despair that you did not.”

“You should have said something,” said Erestor. He looked up to check the knots. “I would not have wanted you dissatisfied.”

“Now, I did not say that.”

This time it was Glorfindel who stretched up to kiss him. The captain’s excitement was palpable, for he groaned through the kiss and took them deeper almost immediately, sucking at Erestor’s tongue, nibbling and pulling at his bottom lip. He thrusted up, rocking up against Erestor, and even with Glorfindel's breeches between them, Erestor could feel the shape of that cock already stiff within its confines. 

But Erestor was not yet done. Next came a third piece of cloth, this time just hidden under the pillows. He took it in both hands to show to Glorfindel, and he noted the way those eyes flashed at the sight, the boyish grin returning.

"What has come over you?" Glorfindel's voice hinted at teasing. "Did someone put something in your wine? You must tell me so I can thank them."

"Hush; behave you. May I?" Erestor asked his captive, who hissed his next breath. 

“By the Valar, _yes_. You do things rather thoroughly, don’t you?”

Erestor shook his head, but had to smile. “I try.” The cloth went over Glorfindel’s eyes and was tied around his head; it was endearing, the way those expressive lips pulled in a grin. Erestor could not help but return them, despite his worries that evening and despite that the other could not see.

It was rare for them to do things this way. Apart from Glorfindel being the one to initiate their meetings, it was also so that they kept such things to the usual evenings that began with walks after dinner, their usual conversations that would stretch past midnight without them noticing. When they finally did decide to retire to bed, when they laid together, it was usually slow and mellow, like the calm tide’s ebb and flow. Erestor knew it was a far cry from some of the things Glorfindel must have had in his lifetime, but then he never complained, and Erestor was too complacent so that things between them just remained that way. 

Now, however, with worries of a coming end hounding him nearly everyday, the desire for certain things began to grow. The sight of Glorfindel tied to bed appeased a part of Erestor that had been clamouring for reassurance where he knew there would never be. He tried not to think too much about it, and anyway it seemed that Glorfindel enjoyed this. Erestor had barely done anything, but the other’s breaths were already coming harshly and there was a flush growing on his cheeks and down his neck. Erestor pulled at the laces that kept Glorfindel’s shirt together, the fabric barely thin enough to hide the hard shape of him underneath. He never grew tired of admiring it, and this here, with Glorfindel unseeing, somehow he felt more free to look. 

Glorfindel indeed was a creature to behold. Erestor wondered if he always looked this way, or if perhaps the Valar fashioned for him a body perfected after his last one. He had been Glorfindel’s lover long enough to know that the body before him was as perfect after thorough inspection as it seemed to be at first impression—warm, sun-kissed skin, wrapped, as though lovingly upon creation, over defined muscles, hard curves and sharp lines that Erestor and doubtlessly many others could not get enough of touching. 

Glorfindel enjoyed being touched, too, if his reactions to Erestor’s fingers were any indication. His breath hitched as fingertips were dragged down his bare chest, and he bit his lip as they brushed against the spasming muscles of his abdomen. Erestor began working at Glorfindel’s breeches, dragging them fully down the other's legs and feet before throwing them over to one side of the bed. Glorfindel’s cock, now freed from its confines, laid full and leaking at the tip, and Erestor’s eyes remained glued to it as he climbed back to straddle Glorfindel once again. 

Glorfindel’s voice sounded breathless as he spoke. “You?” he asked, hands tightening in fists above his head. 

Erestor clicked his tongue at him. “I am working on that,” he said, and began pulling at his own robes, already untied and open at the chest from Glorfindel’s earlier play. 

Glorfindel seemed to wait and listen to the shifting of cloth above him, and once he had confirmed that Erestor was indeed removing his clothes, he groaned, pulling once again at his bonds. “I want to see. Why did I not think there would be a downside to this?”

Erestor ruefully shook his head, though a smile did pull at a corner of his lips as he pulled his arms out of his robes. It was easy enough to get them completely off and joining Glorfindel's trousers on the floor shortly after. He could see the way Glorfindel’s fingers were wrapping around the cloths holding his arms in place, nails scratching at the fabric as his body arched as though riding through pleasured waves. He made quite the picture, his thin white shirt open fully at the front and fanning to his sides, hanging off his bound arms though no longer really hiding anything. He was otherwise bare and flushed down to his hard cock, which seemed even more excited than it had been before. 

Everything about him was pure temptation, and Erestor did not even bother to deny himself any longer. He shifted down, brushing against as much of Glorfindel’s skin as he could touch, and moved until his mouth hovered above Glorfindel’s cock, lingering long enough for his breaths to signal where he was. He rewarded the hissed curse above him with a long lick upwards, just at the underside, from base straight up to the leaking tip. Glorfindel groaned as Erestor wrapped his lips around the head, sucked greedily and tasted his lover’s beading desire, before letting his tongue drag along that column to wet it before sucking it fully inside his mouth. 

Glorfindel surged up against his restraints and it was exactly what Erestor wanted. He sucked up Glorfindel’s cock up to the head again, enjoying the way his lips wrapped around it, tongue at the slit, before taking it all back in his mouth. He did this over and over until Glorfindel’s legs were bent at the knees and he was all but melting through the mattress, his groans pulled out of his throat every time Erestor took him between his parted lips. 

“I love the way your mouth feels,” Glorfindel all but moaned, hips thrusting helplessly up in support of his words. 

Erestor looked up at him, though they could not lock eyes because of the blindfold. Still, the sight of him so flushed, mouth open and gasping under the black of the blindfold, was something Erestor knew had been carved forever in his memory. “So you say,” he said as he mouthed around that cock again. As he freed himself to speak, his hands continued where he left off, fisting Glorfindel up and down as he offered, “Would you prefer to do it yourself and use my mouth as you like?”

He felt the way that cock twitched in his hand, and he had to smile. 

“Fuck, yes.” The bed creaked at Glorfindel’s restlessness. “Yes. Please, please let me do it.”

And Erestor, not one to tease without following through, let him. He bent down to offer his mouth again, touching his lips just to the head so Glorfindel knew where he was. He could not help but moan when Glorfindel arched up to fill Erestor’s mouth with his cock, the hard heat of him brushing against already sensitive lips and the wet walls of his mouth. This had been a thing Erestor was unsure about at first. Glorfindel was too experienced, had been with princes and adventurers and who knew what else, so what use did he have for a virgin old counsellor, whose celibacy achieved nothing but his ignorance once he chose to take a lover to bed? But Glorfindel seemed pleased enough, if the sounds he made were any indication. He slid up to Erestor’s mouth, desperately each time, and seemed to take so much pleasure in it that Erestor began to enjoy it, too. He loved the way Glorfindel breached his lips, the depraved image the two of them must make, so that he found himself moaning through it as well, seduced by the thought of them together like this. 

He pulled back when he felt Glorfindel coming close to his peak. Though Glorfindel groaned, he did not protest, and Erestor knew it was because Glorfindel always seemed to prefer coming when they were joined. He crawled up to Glorfindel once again, kneeling over him with his bare thighs touching his waist on both sides, while the soft cheeks of his buttocks brushed teasingly along Glorfindel's cock. 

“Are you...?” asked Glorfindel a little breathlessly.

Erestor wrapped a hand around that cock, drawing a hiss from the Elf beneath him. He steadied it into position as he said, “I have prepared myself before your coming.”

"Oh, Elbereth." The headboard creaked worryingly above them as Glorfindel strained once again against his bonds, truly testing them as Erestor sank down on his cock, enveloping it in tighter heat than what he had earlier given it. Glorfindel's groan resounded around the room, breaths harsh as he strained to keep still and let Erestor do the taking. “Oh, _yes_. See, this is why I love you.”

Every once in a while, he said things like this that Erestor never knew how to take. Glorfindel was sweet and expressive and open, but Erestor was too reserved to be able to hear such exclamations without being distracted by them, especially now when he felt so unsteady. 

Glorfindel's hips thrusted up as though helpless against the desire coursing hot and red and visible through his skin. Erestor revelled at that—the full body flush, muscles flexing under his weight, that _cock_ , rock hard in all its great glory, thrusting inside him as though its bearer can no longer stand the tension. Despite his insistence for control, he let his head fall back, let his hands hold him steady against the hard muscles of the body beneath him as his back arched to the pleasure. Glorfindel fucked like a stallion and Erestor, once he had grown used to the breaching, loved it, enjoyed that forceful, sometimes unbridled claiming, and he even loved the fact that even tied, Glorfindel still wrested for control and took Erestor the way the counsellor liked it. 

They moved that way, years of familiarity kicking in as Glorfindel slid in and out of that welcoming heat. Erestor's nails scratched at Glorfindel's skin every time the head of that cock nudged and brushed against that spot within him that made him shut his eyes, pulled the moans and the occasional embarrassing whimper from his throat. He could never win against him, not even now when he had Glorfindel so bound; he was too much, too great a thing to hold, and he overwhelmed Erestor each and every time. 

He surged up at a particular hard thrust, breaking their rhythm when he was lifted too high so that Glorfindel’s cock was pulled free from him. Twin groans of frustration resounded in the room, and Erestor was quick to reach behind him, to take that cock in his shaking hand so that he could position it right for Glorfindel to thrust up again. They sighed at the reunion, though Glorfindel quickly picked up the pace again. 

"By the Valar, don't move," he told Erestor, voice hoarse and unsteady, his words stilted and accented by every thrust. "I beg you, keep still and let me do this. I am close and I need to come in you." 

And oh, how Erestor wanted it, too. He allowed himself to surrender to it, his head falling back again at the rising pleasure. His legs opened even wider of their own accord, as though begging Glorfindel for more, and Glorfindel gave it to him, hard and fast, both of them now chasing after that cresting tide. 

Erestor forced his eyes open just in time to catch Glorfindel fall towards it first, to see that look of bliss on the other's face. A wave of lust washed over Erestor as he felt Glorfindel begin to fill him, some greedy part of him basking in that moment of claiming—tied to bed, his cock locked in Erestor’s body that was milking him of his seed. He was Erestor’s completely at least for that moment. Erestor almost regretted the moment it ended for him, too, his orgasm wrested from him though he would have wanted the moment to last for much longer. 

See, love was a tricky thing. Glorfindel was loved for many things, but for all that this was but a momentary phase in their long life as Elves, Erestor was beginning to fear that he was loving Glorfindel for things beyond the accepted bounds and beyond the usual reasons. Where others could merely say that they wanted Glorfindel for his beauty, for his name or his reputation as a lover, even for being presented as a bright thing worthy of any emissary to the Valar, Erestor had known him longer and well enough to say that he now also loved Glorfindel in the dim moonlight, in plain robes, knocking on Erestor’s door seeking company because he could not sleep. He loved the Glorfindel who was his friend first, his lover after and really just by accident, a product only of a moment of weakness in the middle of a war. 

He saw, at least, that Glorfindel was good enough to him to not treat him the way he did his other more experienced lovers. He knew Erestor’s ways and perhaps knew before Erestor did that shared lovers was not a thing he could tolerate. But was it fair? Who was Erestor to claim him, this Elf of old and clearly one so wanted by all? Glorfindel was even big enough for all of it, and if there ever was but one who could have him, Erestor could only imagine it to be some prince or king or more, surely nothing less than this.

And so it was because of these things that when Erestor finally caught his breath, he said to him what he been preparing all night to say: "Let us end this, Glorfindel." 

Endings were never pleasant, at best really only bittersweet, and so the silence that followed his words was not unexpected. All the same, once out in the open and no longer in the safe confines of Erestor’s mind, he began to feel the weight of them so that the silence was nearly stifling. 

“What did you just say?” 

Erestor looked down at the Elf beneath him, lying still where he left him, tied and blinded because Erestor was not brave enough to face him fully when he said the words he was even asked to repeat. He took a breath. "Tonight—this. Let it be the last time."

“Get this off me.” Glorfindel scrabbled at his bonds, this time looking truly with the intention to get away from them. When Erestor did not immediately move, he ground out, “ _Now_ , Erestor.”

It was quick business, getting Glorfindel untied. He pulled at his restraints and the blindfold, escaping them the moment the bonds were loose, and he almost had Erestor losing his balance when he sat up too fast. But Glorfindel's hands grabbed at him and grasped him by the arms, keeping him upright, but this the captain also used to shake him and make him look at Glorfindel. 

"What is this about ending things?" Fingers tightened around Erestor's arms. “Do your words mean what I think they mean?”

Erestor's lips settled in a tense line. “How else can one understand what I said?”

For a moment, Glorfindel just looked at Erestor in seeming shock. His barked out laugh that came next sounded incredulous and as though it was punched out of him. “Is this how you break up with lovers, Erestor? Give them the best fuck of their life and then drop the blow?” 

Erestor doubted it was hardly the best, but he sagely shut his mouth against saying it, so furious did Glorfindel now look. “Is it so strange? I am certain there are worse ways of going about it, and I do not see why you should be so surprised. Has this not gone on for longer than it should?”

A strange look crossed Glorfindel’s face. “What is that supposed to mean? I—do not understand. Have I done something to displease you?" 

"Nay, not that. I just thought—” Erestor shook his head. Of all things that he had expected, Glorfindel confused and refusing an easy way out was not among them. “Have you not had enough, Glorfindel? It has been some years already.”

Glorfindel, however, only went on protesting. “Only some, and what does that matter? Have—” There it was again, almost a look of hurt, as though this truly came as a surprise. “Have you had enough, Erestor?”

There was hesitation in the other's tone that gave Erestor pause. He truly could not understand what was happening. "It is not I who requires the break," he said. He knew he must be giving Glorfindel a helpless look, for it was not easy for him to do this, and so he had hoped for this to happen at least quickly and easily. "It is not I who does this sort of thing, sleeping with people when the desire strikes. It is all right, Glorfindel. We delay at cutting off something that should have ended the moment the war was over. It was good and useful when the days were gloomy and death looms above us every time we wake, but we are back now, safe and sound, and there is little need for comfort of that sort anymore, is there?"

Glorfindel frowned at these words. "Back then, did you sleep with me just for comfort?" 

"I thought you knew. Was it not the same for you?"

Erestor supposed that having worked together and having had disagreements either as co-workers or as friends, he had said many awful things already to Glorfindel. Still, none of those came close to what his words seemed to do to the other now. In Ithil's dim light, the candle having long burnt out, those usually clear eyes stared back at him wide and unblinking. While he anticipated disappointment and perhaps a little anger, what he saw before him seemed too strong and strange a response. 

But Erestor knew the look of betrayal when he sees it. He could feel the fight leaving him, and more softly, he asked again. "Was it not, Glorfindel?" 

"No." 

The lack of anything else that followed struck Erestor as harsher than anything else Glorfindel could have said in insult. He scrambled at something to say, but somehow words of wisdom eluded him. 

“Even so,” he tried to say, though he was unsure anymore where the conversation was supposed to go, “if you wanted a lover, you can take your pick out of anyone here, like you used to. Even now, there is even Thranduil returned, whom I know is seeking company and has asked you—”

"You would give me away to Thranduil?" 

"Why not? It was a good match when you had it, both of you princes from well-respected lines. Even now he is king, and you of course are a renowned hero and lord of old. Did your last relationship not end only because Thranduil had to return to Eryn Galen? I suppose there are still considerations to think about, but—” 

"Stop, Erestor. Just be quiet, you are only making it worse.” 

“I know how you are. There is nothing wrong in that, so why do you deny it now?” Somehow, for some reason, panic was steadily rising. This was not at all the reaction Erestor had prepared for, and it still made no sense that Glorfindel would prolong what they had. Did he intend to keep Erestor like the lovers he kept indefinitely, his to have when it was available, but not the only one? “You take lovers as they come, if they are to your fancy. You are free to do so anyway, and no one begrudges that from you. But I cannot do what your other lovers seem to do, to allow you in fully knowing there are others out there to keep you company when they are not around. I am not your plaything for you to—"

“Plaything!” Finally, Glorfindel seemed to come alive. His face was red in anger. “Is that what you think my other lovers were? They were _friends_ , Elves who knew and saw without me telling that my heart is elsewhere and drifting without anchor, for the shores to which I had hoped to alight was closed off to me." Wide shoulders sank as Glorfindel heaved a sigh. "At least, I thought they were... until you came to me, and finally I thought things were as they should be.”

It was Erestor this time who sat back, eyes wide. Glorfindel met his gaze, almost sadly in return. 

“When you came to me, back in the war, I thought it was things finally falling into place. I thought you had changed your mind. You used to say you would never take a lover, and so I thought that was to be your way how ever much I wished it were not so. If I seemed to lack care for whoever I am with, it was only because my intended lived with me but not as I would have liked.”

“Your… intended?” Erestor somehow found his voice, though his thoughts were still flitting too fast for him to catch. “Nay. You cannot mean me. Who am I for you, Glorfindel? Especially then, when you met me, I was but a counsellor among many in the court of the king, better perhaps in station compared to others, but still leagues away from you. You deserve—"

“Deserve?” Glorfindel cut him off. “We deserve to be with whomever we choose. May he be Elf or Man, or even Dwarf if that be where the heart would stray, if the heart so wishes it, and were that to be the highest peak of happiness one can find, then would we not want that? Do we not all deserve to be given that?” He took a deep breath. “Did you never notice the way I regarded you differently? Did I not approach you first, all those years ago?”

“Aye," said Erestor, "but as a friend.”

“A friend, yes, because of course that was appropriate at first, but it also eventually seemed to be all that you would welcome. I hoped for you, you know, for many years.” 

Erestor was stunned to silence. The golden head before him bowed, but soon there was a warm hand taking Erestor's, and holding it tight. 

“So please don’t say you will end things for my sake," Glorfindel said, this time more quietly, "because if you were truly doing things for the sake of my happiness, then you would take back what you said and stay with me this night. And in the morning you will apologise, and you will be kind to me, and you will treat me as a lover as you should have done the moment we returned to Imladris and found peace and I asked you if you would perhaps join me for the evening. When I held your hand then, I did so in the way I had wanted to do for centuries. When I offered myself to you, I did not mean to offer a mere bed-warmer. I wanted you from the start. How can you think I would ever want to end things?”

“I am sorry," Erestor finally found the voice to say. He hesitated only for a moment before he held that downturned face in both hands, willing it to meet his gaze. “Glorfindel, I am sorry. I did not know. I did not dare to think it, but know that I tried to end things this night because I could not take the thought of you with another, like I was used to seeing. You flitted from one lover to another as though there was no satisfying you. I thought it was only a matter of time, for things for me can only be no different.”

“You have always been different.” Glorfindel's eyes shimmered in the faint light as they sat there face to face. “If I but had you all that time, there would not have been a need for anyone else.”

Glorfindel leaned in, slowly so as not to startle. He seemed to wait for Erestor, who, though still in shock, nevertheless met the kiss that Glorfindel offered. It came hard and with lips unmoving, as though Glorfindel would keep them frozen in that moment, but Erestor still rose up to meet it, held the sides of Glorfindel's head and manoeuvred them so they were sitting close again and with him on Glorfindel's lap. 

"I think I am in love with you," Erestor said to him, and something felt like it burst within his chest. It was his long kept secret, from the moment he saw Glorfindel kiss another and Erestor realised he wanted him for himself, at first out of lust suddenly seeming to have awoken, and then later, when this Elf proved to be good and true. 

"I _know_ I am in love with you," declared Glorfindel with more conviction as he looked up at Erestor. He brushed softly at the dark hair framing the counsellor's face. "Deeply, definitely, and still after so long. Tell me now your mind has changed from what you told me long ago. Tell me that you will live your life with me, and disregarding what you said earlier, tell me you will live with me with no end, with no others ever coming between us."

"Aye, all of those," answered Erestor in turn as he framed that precious face between his hands. "I want all of those. I will not share you, Glorfindel, and I will take your word for it that I will not have to. May the Valar have mercy on you if you dare break your promise." 

Glorfindel's face broke into smile, and for someone who had just been threatened, he looked far too happy. The question he asked next, however, was somewhat subdued. "Does it bother you, Erestor, that I was not faithful? At first I had intended to, but when it began to sink in that I could never have you, to hold or to kiss or to embrace, I sought comfort from others though I knew they would not suffice."

Thinking back, it was perhaps odd that after centuries of knowing Glorfindel, he would suddenly turn around and seek lovers after so many years abstaining. Someday, he would ask Glorfindel what it felt like to want someone and have to give them up before anything even began. 

But that conversation was perhaps for another day. "Just promise me that there will be no others after, and you are forgiven."

"Never any others," swore Glorfindel, leaning in to give Erestor an earnest kiss on the lips. "Not when I finally have you."

They kissed for some time, with Erestor on Glorfindel's lap and Glorfindel leading them in that enthusiastic kiss. He pulled away after a while, but only so he could pull Erestor to lie with him and roll them over so the dark-haired Elf was laid under him.

"Now," said Glorfindel with a wide and clear grin, his eyes sparkling as he smiled down at Erestor. "Might I request a reclaiming? This time around, I believe the Elf who tried to escape me earlier deserves to be the one to be tied down. Do I hear any protests?" 

Erestor smiled up at him. "Nay. You may do with me as you wish, for I am yours."

\- fin -

**Author's Note:**

> I am pretty sure there should have been more Thranduil-centric angst in there and more Glorfindel being mean about certain things, but I can't seem to write mean Glorfindel to save my life. Somehow also this just became Erestor being jealous of... well, everyone? And not just Thranduil? Ack. 
> 
> Prompt: Happy ending, some romance, and Erestor having to deal with the fact Thranduil and Glorfindel were lovers at one point. Erestor feeling he might have to prove his worthiness, and Glorfindel comparing Erestor to ~~Thranduil~~ [everyone, and most likely not in the way the prompt intended *fails so badly*]


End file.
